With Karl Slym, former head of General Motors India, joining Tata Motors as a managing director, the Indian automaker has set its targets very high.
If these plans work, Tata Motors would dethrone Hyundai as the second largest maker of passenger cars in India.
In order to achieve this spectacular feat, the automaker has plans to launch six new products in the next one year.
In the current market scenario, the number one position belongs to Maruti Suzuki India which is followed by Hyundai. Tata Motors is in the third position constantly under fire from Mahindra in fourth place.
Tata Motors has not had any new product for the last one-and-a-half years. Slym wants to focus on the volumes segment to secure the third position, before overtaking Hyundai. To bring in more volumes, there will be six new offerings from Tata Motors. It will be a mix of brand new models and refreshes. Slym also mentioned that they are working on all sorts of UVs in all segments and a compact SUV is playing a vital role.
Karl Slym is the man right for the job. Under his leadership, GM India grew by a compounded annual rate of 21% from 60,000 units by end-2007 to almost 1,10,000 units by December 2011.
But taking down Hyundai may not be as easy as it looks. The Korean automaker has grown consistently even in a bleak market and has started to threaten the market leader Maruti Suzuki.
So here is an open question - What 'NEW' products would you like to see from Tata Motors, not only in the next year, but also in the coming years?
